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Program and courses Health Humanities

Study the meaning of health and illness in our society. Investigate how these concepts relate to cultural norms and how they address issues of equity and justice. Also learn how you can report on research outcomes to influence the debate and decision making processes around these topics.

Program content

Core courses

Follow these 4 core courses:

Cultural practices of knowledge production in health and medicineThe purpose of this course is to put contemporary ideas about evidence and truth into perspective while exploring how they are effectively produced considering our trust in numbers and imaging technologies. You will learn that the production of knowledge in health and medicine always take place within a certain social-cultural-political context.

Online Health PracticesNew communication technologies have influenced the ways in which health issues are communicated, by whom, and to which audiences. And how it is understood and monitored by visual and verbal forms of communication. In this course you study current developments in Online Health Practices and analyze how these influence perceptions and understandings of communication about health.

The Normal and the AbnormalMedical practice relies on drawing lines between health and pathology, and between normal and abnormal. But what is health? And disease? In this course we will discuss how and why these lines are drawn, and how socio-cultural influences play a role.

Diversity and Equity in health and medicineThe purpose of this course is to explore how and why gender and other types of diversity are related to the ways in which health care is experienced, studied and performed. The course uses insights from feminist theory, disability studies, and post-colonial theory to investigate how diversity relates to risk, representation, and treatment.

In the final stages of your master's program, you will work on your Master’s thesis (18 ECTS). The main objective of the thesis is to write a research paper on a particular topic related to the track Health Humanities. The course Master Thesis KCW will prepare you for writing your thesis.

Your thesis consists of a theoretical framework on existing literature, data collection, data analysis and a conclusion. Once you've completed your thesis, it will be discussed and you will give an oral defense.

Programs are subject to change, so we advise our students to check their exact program in the education catalog at the official start of the academic year.

Short overview of Health Humanities

Reflect upon health from an interdisciplinary humanities perspective.

Study how developments and opinions regarding health, medicine and healthcare are reflected in cultural practices in society. And learn how cultural norms, diversity, technological developments and the online world shape these developments and opinions.

Critically evaluate various types of knowledge production in contemporary health and medicine using various types of research and methodologies.

Relate concepts of health and medical sciences and practices to questions of public debate and concern.

Connect theory with practice through in an internship (optional) and by attending guest lectures from professionals.

Learn how to write scientific articles based on academic content which will be published in Diggit Magazine, which is both a learning instrument and an online news platform about digital culture, globalization, and arts.

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